411
McSweeney et al. 1989; Dawbin and Eyre 1991; Darling and Sousa-Lima 2005;
Eriksen et al. 2005), however many other aspects of the acoustic ecology of the species during the singing behavior is still unknown, such as the socio-ecological context in which the males sing, bringing spatial information (eg. where do they sing?
what depth?) and variations of this context inside the breeding season.
Humpback whale song was described as the most elaborated and spectacular
single display of any animal species (Wilson 1975). The song was initially described
in details by Payne and McVay (1971) and Winn et al. (1971). Extensive analyses of
this unique acoustic behavior have revealed that: (1) males produce stereotyped,
ordered sequences of sounds for long periods, (2) at any given time, sequences produced by individuals within a breeding area are highly similar (Winn et al. 1981;
Payne and Guinee 1983), and (3) whales continuously modify these sequences over
time (Payne et al. 1983; Payne and Payne 1985).
Explanations for the structural and acoustic features of humpback whale songs
remain speculative. Because most researchers assume that songs are used primarily
for long distance communication (Payne and McVay 1971; Winn and Winn 1978;
Tyack 1981; Helweg et al. 1992; Frankel et al. 1995; Cerchio et al. 2001; Darling
and Bérubé 2001), song features often are interpreted in terms of how they might
facilitate the transfer of information among whales (Winn and Winn 1978; Frankel
1995). Additionally, song properties could reflect strategies for collecting environmental information, if components of songs are used as echolocation signals (Winn
and Perkins 1976; Winn and Winn 1978; Frazer and Mercado 2000; Au et al. 2001).
Singers mostly appear as alone males (Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981), yet
some have been documented as singing in groups (Baker and Herman 1984) and
while moving (Frankel et al. 1995). Singing appears to be most prevalent on the
winter breeding grounds, despite also recorded on the Alaskan (McSweeney et al.
1989) and Gulf of Maine (Mattila et al. 1987) feeding grounds and during migration
(Clapham 1996, 2000).
Humpback whale songs show clear structure based on aural analysis, with
smaller repetitive units called “phrases” organized into larger “themes” which tend
to occur in specific sequence (Payne and McVay, 1971, Guinee et al. 1983)
(Fig. 15.4). The structure of song changes over the course of a winter season, yet at
any given time all singers appear to be singing the same version of a song (Guinee
et al. 1983; Payne et al. 1983; Payne and Payne 1985).
The relationship between singing and seasonal gonadal activity suggests that
song production plays a role in the mating system. While humpback whale song
appears to be the result of strong sexual selection (Tyack 1981; Smith et al. 2008),
its function in the mating system remains unclear. Helweg et al. (1992) presented a
detailed summary of current hypotheses regarding the role of humpback whale
song, but its role is still far from certain. A number of possible functions of song
have been proposed, including sexual advertisement to females (Payne and McVay
1971; Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981, 2000), maintenance of spacing and territorial defense among singing males (Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981; Frankel et al.
1995), inducement or synchronization of ovulation in females (Baker and Herman
1984), and a navigational “beacon” for migrating whales (Winn and Winn 1978).
15 The Spreading Message in a Noisy World: Song Behavior and Acoustic Ecology…
McSweeney et al. 1989; Dawbin and Eyre 1991; Darling and Sousa-Lima 2005;
Eriksen et al. 2005), however many other aspects of the acoustic ecology of the species during the singing behavior is still unknown, such as the socio-ecological context in which the males sing, bringing spatial information (eg. where do they sing?
what depth?) and variations of this context inside the breeding season.
Humpback whale song was described as the most elaborated and spectacular
single display of any animal species (Wilson 1975). The song was initially described
in details by Payne and McVay (1971) and Winn et al. (1971). Extensive analyses of
this unique acoustic behavior have revealed that: (1) males produce stereotyped,
ordered sequences of sounds for long periods, (2) at any given time, sequences produced by individuals within a breeding area are highly similar (Winn et al. 1981;
Payne and Guinee 1983), and (3) whales continuously modify these sequences over
time (Payne et al. 1983; Payne and Payne 1985).
Explanations for the structural and acoustic features of humpback whale songs
remain speculative. Because most researchers assume that songs are used primarily
for long distance communication (Payne and McVay 1971; Winn and Winn 1978;
Tyack 1981; Helweg et al. 1992; Frankel et al. 1995; Cerchio et al. 2001; Darling
and Bérubé 2001), song features often are interpreted in terms of how they might
facilitate the transfer of information among whales (Winn and Winn 1978; Frankel
1995). Additionally, song properties could reflect strategies for collecting environmental information, if components of songs are used as echolocation signals (Winn
and Perkins 1976; Winn and Winn 1978; Frazer and Mercado 2000; Au et al. 2001).
Singers mostly appear as alone males (Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981), yet
some have been documented as singing in groups (Baker and Herman 1984) and
while moving (Frankel et al. 1995). Singing appears to be most prevalent on the
winter breeding grounds, despite also recorded on the Alaskan (McSweeney et al.
1989) and Gulf of Maine (Mattila et al. 1987) feeding grounds and during migration
(Clapham 1996, 2000).
Humpback whale songs show clear structure based on aural analysis, with
smaller repetitive units called “phrases” organized into larger “themes” which tend
to occur in specific sequence (Payne and McVay, 1971, Guinee et al. 1983)
(Fig. 15.4). The structure of song changes over the course of a winter season, yet at
any given time all singers appear to be singing the same version of a song (Guinee
et al. 1983; Payne et al. 1983; Payne and Payne 1985).
The relationship between singing and seasonal gonadal activity suggests that
song production plays a role in the mating system. While humpback whale song
appears to be the result of strong sexual selection (Tyack 1981; Smith et al. 2008),
its function in the mating system remains unclear. Helweg et al. (1992) presented a
detailed summary of current hypotheses regarding the role of humpback whale
song, but its role is still far from certain. A number of possible functions of song
have been proposed, including sexual advertisement to females (Payne and McVay
1971; Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981, 2000), maintenance of spacing and territorial defense among singing males (Winn and Winn 1978; Tyack 1981; Frankel et al.
1995), inducement or synchronization of ovulation in females (Baker and Herman
1984), and a navigational “beacon” for migrating whales (Winn and Winn 1978).
15 The Spreading Message in a Noisy World: Song Behavior and Acoustic Ecology…